


Beyond Reality

by CrystalNavy



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-08 00:34:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17971082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalNavy/pseuds/CrystalNavy
Summary: The journey is over. The World Government is toppled. Akainu and Blackbeard have died by their hands. The promise has been kept.And yet, there is something missing. Something important. Four different individuals come together for one purpose only.To reject the world.





	1. Always

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alliance is made between four individuals. One of mutual benefit.

Being the leader was harder than it seemed.

Sabo grimaced. He recalled the day his superior and father figure had died, protecting the others. With Dragon dead, the leadership position fell to Sabo.

To distract himself from current troubles (and the massive stack of paperwork lying on his desk) he delegated himself to cleaning his old room.

And then he found it. 

An old wanted poster, which was still in good condition despite being eight years old.

Sabo winced as he took one look at it.

A smiling face - one that was so achingly familiar - stared back at him.

Eight years ago, an event happened that changed his life forever. One that Sabo wished didn't occur.

His musings were interrupted as Koala entered the room. Koala was one of the few survivors from the old Revolutionary Army, and the only one still alive who knew his secret.

"You have visitors." she informed him, as her expression morphed into a thoughtful frown "They are waiting in the main lobby."

"Who are they?" Sabo turned so that he was looking at her

He was still gripping the wanted poster in his hand.

"You'll have to meet them to find out." she said slyly

Sabo's curiosity won over, and he let Koala lead him to the lobby.

Seated on one of the couches were a young man and an even younger girl, both of whom he knew very well.

"Hey, Sabo." the man stood up, flashing that trademark grin of his "It's been a while."

"Why are you two here?" Sabo raised an eyebrow

"Since I became the Pirate King, we had everything we needed. But there is one thing we couldn't have. One thing that we lost to the ravages of time." Luffy explained, nodding towards Sabo's hand

It was then that Sabo realized he was still holding onto the wanted poster.

"And we're done suffering in silence." the girl - O-Tama - if Sabo recalled correctly, spoke up "There are many strange powers in this world, one of which is bound to be what we need."

"Where is the rest of your crew?"

"They are out there, living their dreams." Luffy shrugged "Me and O-Tama are different. Our dreams aren't fulfilled yet, not entirely. That's why we agreed to reject the world, with you."

"Reject the world?" Sabo repeated slowly "How do you do that?"

"As O-Tama had pointed out, there are many strange phenomena in this world." Luffy said "And one of them is bound to suit our purposes."

"I think I know something that might help." Koala piped up "The Reject-Reject Fruit. It can reject the reality itself."

"All three of us are fruit eaters, though." Sabo pointed out "And eating a second one would kill us."

"There is still someone who could eat it." Koala "Me."

"But why do you......?"

"Let's just say that I miss someone too." Koala's voice was full of nostalgia "That person was the first one who was nice to me in a long time, and it was because of me that he had to die, so I feel personally responsible for his death."

"Mind sharing who?"

"I can't say." Koala hesitated "But I can show you. I have been keeping my greatest secret from you and the rest of the Revolutionaries for a long time. Dragon-san......he was the only one who knew. You deserve to know this as well."

And then she turned around, and lifted her shirt. There, on her back, was a tattoo. A tattoo of a red sun.

"That's......" Luffy's eyes widened in shock "That's the symbol of Jinbe's old crew."

"Yes." Koala confirmed "Their old Captain gave me this mark as proof of my freedom, a proof that I was no longer a slave. I didn't even know that he had died until it was too late. The only thing I could do was keep his dream alive, and I joined the Revolutionary Army for this very reason. But now.....now I have another shot at it, and I ain't gonna miss it. So what do you say?"

"You've got yourself a deal." Luffy grinned


	2. Ode To The Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The moment they were waiting for is finally here.

"That's the Commander of this base." Koala whispered "He is the main threat to us fulfilling our objective."

"Leave it to me." O-Tama whispered "He's likely to consider me harmless, therefore I have the biggest chance to steal the fruit."

No one had any counter-argument to that, and so O-Tama stepped out in the open, immediately pretending to faint.

The older Marine frowned, before he picked her up and carried her away. O-Tama cracked one eye open and showed the other three a 'V' sign, allowing them to relax.

The Marine laid her in bed. She looked around. There, on the table, was their prize.

"Rest for now." the Marine instructed "I'll be back shortly, and I'll bring you something to make you feel better."

O-Tama nodded, even though she had no intention of sticking around now that she found what they were looking for.

As soon as she was alone in the room, she cut off a bite-sized portion of the fruit, which she wrapped in a rag and stuffed in the pocket of her custom-made kimono.

There was one more thing to do.

Find a way to escape.

-x-

She go her chance a day later, as Captain came into the room.

"You've recovered." he announced "I'll escort you out. Where do you live?"

"I live on a different island." O-Tama came up with a lie on the spot "We were supposed to sell our goods, but we were shipwrecked on this island. My family are still looking for me."

"Then I'll help you find them." the Marine offered

Once they were outside, O-Tama looked around. Luffy and Sabo were nowhere to be found, but Koala was there, and she was walking towards them.

"Mother!" O-Tama threw herself into Koala's arms and the older woman reciprocated

"You had us worried." Koala admonished her "I'll take it from here, Officer."

"No problem." the Marine saluted "Glad I could help."

And then Koala and O-Tama's visage changed. Instead of the kind-hearted Marine, they saw Strawberry and Akainu, respectively, and were barely able to rein in their emotions.

"Thank you. We shall not forget your kindness." Koala said instead "Come, daughter. Your father and brother are waiting."

-x-

"You're right." Koala made a face as she chewed "It tastes awful. But it was worth it."

With those words, she lifted up her arm, closing it into a fist. 

The very fabric of reality shattered in front of them, before it was restored as an entirely different world.


	3. Here Comes The Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy, Sabo, O-Tama and Koala make plans on how to proceed.

"I recognize this place." Luffy said

They were on the cliff overlooking the bay.

"Me too." Sabo joined him there "This is the island we grew up on, you, me, and Ace."

Koala and O-Tama picked themselves up from the ground, and joined the two sworn brothers on the edge of the cliff, enjoying both the silence and the spectacular view.

"All right." Koala finally decided to break the silence "If we're going to do this, we're gonna do it right. Which means we need to make some plans."

Luffy groaned at that. Planning wasn't something he enjoyed. Sabo and O-Tama, however, nodded.

And so, they sat down, close to one another, and began discussing in hushed whispers.

-x-

They had all agreed that helping Koala first was the more prudent course of action, as Ace's death wouldn't happen for another 9 years or so, meaning that they had plenty of time to figure out how to prevent it.

They contemplated building a raft, but that idea was quickly discarded, as no matter how well-made it was, a raft wouldn't endure in the waters of the Grand Line.

Instead, Sabo and O-Tama came up with a different plan.

Which is why they were here, waiting.

Soon, their patience had paid off as the Sea King rose out of the water.

Sabo looked at O-Tama and nodded. 

She pulled at her cheek until a dumpling came off. Then she threw it, and it fell right into Sea King's open maw.

They watched as he swallowed it.

"We have our boat." Sabo grinned proudly as the Sea King allowed them to climb onto it's head.

"Please take us to Foolshoot Island." Koala said

"Please do as she says." O-Tama told the creature

He nodded, and took off

-x-

"It's good to be home." Koala breathed in the air of her home island. Still, she didn't want to see them again.

After all, they had betrayed her benefactor.

There was unmistakable sound of the party in the distance.

"It is starting." she informed her companions 

They watched as Rear Admiral Strawberry disembarked, along with his squadron, all of whom were armed.

"They will have back-up." Koala whispered "We have to be careful about this. Here is what we will do......"


	4. Crashing The Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan unfolds

Rear Admiral Strawberry never broke the eye contact with the man in front of him, even as his men trained their riffles on their target. This was going to be easy, he could tell as much.

What he didn't realize was that no one should ever say that everything would be easy on anything similar, because doing that was practically guaranteeing that it won't be as easy as one hoped it would be.

After explaining the situation to the target, Strawberry commanded his men to fire, which they obeyed.

The bullets never reached their target. 

A blur had intercepted them before that could happen, shielding Fisher Tiger from any major damage.

Strawberry looked at the young man who was standing in front of Fisher Tiger with outstretched arms. He had expected the stranger to be full of bullet holes, but strangely enough, this was not the case.

"I am immune to bullets." the stranger grinned, answering Strawberry's unspoken question 

"Devil Fruit?" Strawberry guessed 

The stranger nodded, picking his nose.

"Are you....." Strawberry let the implication hang in the air

"Yes." the stranger nodded "Yes, I am."

"Why did you save me?" Fisher Tiger stood up, panting, as the blood trickled down his leg

"A mutual friend wanted it." the young man grinned "My name is Luffy, by the way."

It was then that a loud sound reached them. Everyone turned to look at the horse galloping towards them, with Koala and O-Tama perched on its back.

The horse slowed down before coming to a stop. Koala extended a hand, with a pleading stare. Nodding, Fisher Tiger took it, allowing her to pull him up. 

"Where is Sabo?" Luffy asked 

"Helping Sun Pirates take down the blockade so that we can leave." Koala replied

Before Strawberry or his men could react, O-Tama patted the horse on the back twice, and it galloped away.

-x-

"What is your real reason for helping us?" Jinbe gave Sabo a suspicious look

"I suppose that 'out of goodness of our hearts' isn't a reason which would satisfy you?" Sabo grinned

Jinbe merely crossed his arms and huffed.

"Okay, I guess not." Sabo sighed "We are a group opposing the World Government. Your Captain is just the kind of a man we'd want to keep alive. His world view matches ours, after all."

"All right." Jinbe relaxed "We'll trust you."

"Good to know." Sabo adjusted his hat "Here they come."

A horse stopped in front of them. Its three riders climbed down.

"Is it ready?" Koala asked, not bothering to hide the urgency in her tone "They're coming, and we need to leave before they get here."

"Yes." Sabo assured her

"We cleared off the barricade." Jinbe supplied

"Then, let's set sail." Fisher Tiger stepped forward "Sun Pirates, get onboard!"

"We're going as well." Luffy, who had caught up, commanded in the same tone "We have one more task to accomplish. One which is ten years in the making."

"Aye-aye, Captain." O-Tama, Sabo and Koala saluted

"We'll take you to your destination." Fisher Tiger decided "It's the least we could do to repay you."


	5. The Meaning Of Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The concept of family has different meaning for different people.

A month had passed since their return to Dawn Island. The Sun Pirates had decided to continue on their journey, with some adjustments. 

This left the original group on their own for the most part.

"That looks neat." O-Tama observed the person who had inspired her.

Ace paused his current activity of carving a small piece of wood to look at her.

"Thanks, I guess." he replied, somewhat embarrassed "It's a gift for Luffy."

"I am sure he'd love it." O-Tama said sincerely

"I hope he would." Ace tilted his head to look at her "You don't look like you're from East Blue."

"I am not." O-Tama admitted "I was born and raised in Wano Country. We are rather poor, and we live under the thumb of a dictator. He stole all of our crops and he controls our food and water, which he denies us for the most part."

Ace's expression changed. While he was distrustful of O-Tama in the beginning, she had grown on him over time. And even if she didn't, something like this was despicable on a whole new level.

"As soon as I grow up." he declared "I'll help you liberate it."

"Don't." O-Tama turned away "Don't make promises you can't keep."

She shifted her position slightly, staring into the distance.

"I knew someone like you once." she whispered softly "He was gentle and kind.....and he was brave. He said the same thing you did, more or less......But before he could make good on his word, he was killed. I will not let that happen to anyone else."

Ace opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. O-Tama stood up, adjusting her kimono.

"I am gonna help Magra with firewood." she said

And then she walked away before Ace could stop her.

-x-

It was the middle of the night when O-Tama crawled out of her bed. Carefully, she opened the door, making sure it didn't make a noise, and she slipped out.

She proceeded to do the same with the main door, and she disappeared into the night, walking east.

Upon arriving to her destination, she was met with the sight of the fire. Luffy, Sabo and Koala were huddled around it for warmth, and she joined them.

"Good, we're all here." Koala noted "Let's proceed with the meeting."

"Right." Sabo nodded "Do you think we should involve Roger Pirates? They will be more than happy to help protect their Captain's son, I think."

"Sabo's idea is a prudent one." Koala agreed "I say we go for it."

"I third the notion." Luffy announced "Old man Rayleigh is a good person, and we can trust him at least."

"The plan is approved by three votes." Koala announced "We'll contact Rayleigh tomorrow, and he'll rally other Roger Pirates behind him."

-x-

"All right, spill it." Ace's curiosity got the better of him

He had been watching Luffy and O-Tama act fidgety all morning, in a way which made it clear that they were hiding something from him.

"We can't." Luffy looked away

"Why not?" Ace demanded "We share everything, remember?"

"I am sorry, Ace." Luffy lifted his head to look his brother in the eyes "But this time we have a good reason why we're not sharing. What we're doing can become dangerous. Besides, you'll find out either way in two or three days."


	6. Golden Sombreros

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of things happen, which lead to the formation of the Golden Sombreros, who mostly operate in shadows. Due to this, no one knows what their long-term goals are. No one except themselves and their mysterious leader.

Silvers Rayleigh chuckled. It had been a fine day for him, both in terms of his cover business and affairs of Golden Sombreros. The fewer people knew that he was the actual leader of aforementioned group, the better. 

He smiled as Shakky entered. She and her information network were invaluable allies, capable of acquiring info he wouldn't be able to gather on his own. As a result, he was able to act in best interests of Golden Sombreros as a whole.

And speaking of which.......

"Could you tell him to come see me, Shakky?" Rayleigh requested with a small smile

Shakky nodded, before departing the room swiftly.

Soon after, a figure in a brown coat entered the room, taking a seat next to Rayleigh.

"You don't have to hide it, not in front of me." Rayleigh chuckled

At this, the figure removed the coat. Underneath was a young man with short black hair, which reached his shoulder. Rayleigh hummed as he studied his features. A wave of nostalgia hit him, and it hit him hard.

He swallowed, an unpleasant sensation. Here was someone who the World Government wouldn't hesitate to kill, one way or another. And knowing them, they'll probably make it into a public spectacle. Which was why it was a good thing they didn't know that he had survived.

"I....." Rayleigh shifted uncomfortably "I loved her."

"What?"

"Your mother." Rayleigh clarified, as his fingers drummed against the table "I loved her. And until you and your friends came to me, I didn't even know that you had survived. None of us did. I guess that's why I helped to create Golden Sombreros and became a de-facto leader."

-x-

"Golden Sombreros, eh?" Garp picked his nose "This is the first I have heard of them."

"They are operating on a smaller scale." Sengoku explained "Their stated goal is the liberation of Wano, but I have a feeling that their true goal is something else. Their leader and prominent members are all former Roger Pirates, plus any crews led by said pirates."

"Do they have members who aren't Roger Pirates?" Garp inquired

He had a pretty good idea of what they really wanted to accomplish, and he couldn't begrudge them for that.

"Several." Sengoku confirmed

-x-

The attack had come out of nowhere, and the Marines weren't prepared for it.

The three attackers didn't hold back, pushing the Marines back.

"We expected more of a challenge." the one in the middle spoke, picking his nose in a manner not dissimilar to Garp.

"The coast is clear." the one to the left said, addressing the last one

Nodding, the one to the right took off. 

When the Marines attempted to give chase, the other two blocked them.

"We've come for the fruits you are guarding." the attackers' grins turned feral "The Flame-Flame and Dark-Dark Fruit."


	7. Nightingale's Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue Devils are attacked out of nowhere. When the dust settles, there is only one survivor, known by the code name of Nightingale, who is promptly recruited by Golden Sombreros. But Nightingale has a secret of her own, a secret known only to her and five others.

"Now let's see what the loot is." a man said, with a glint in his eyes "You've done well, Nightingale."

"I have a name, you know, Jake." a young woman chuckled half-heartily

"Yeah, but it would be safer for you if we used a code name." Jake pointed out "That was our agreement. You work for me, I protect you."

Those were the last words he spoke as his lair collapsed all around him and his present company.

As the leader of Blue Devils was buried under the rubble, Nightingale turned to face the perpetrator. Because in this case, there was bound to be one.

She found herself looking into a pair of black eyes, which belonged to a young man with unruly black hair. Standing next to him were two others: a man with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a girl with orange hair and maroon eyes.

"So Nightingale, eh?" the blond man chuckled "How fitting. Nightingales represent sadness and loss, but also a new hope that comes afterwards."

"You're wrong." Nightingale smiled serenely "Jake and his gang are the last people I'd miss."

"I am not talking about them." the blond man smiled wryly "I am talking about your original home and its inhabitants."

For the first time in many years, Nightingale's carefully crafted composure dropped.

"Why did you do it?" she asked

"We did it for you." the raven-haired boy answered that question "We were hoping you'd join us, so you can be a part of something better. We won't try to throw you away when it's convenient."

"He was gonna sell you out as soon as you've outlived your usefulness." the blond man whispered "But if you join us, you wouldn't have to fear something like that ever again."

"I suppose I might as well." Nightingale decided "May I know your names?"

"I am Sabo." the blond man said

"Luffy." the raven-haired man introduced himself

"Koala." the only other girl present dipped her head

-x-

"Does she have a real name?" Rayleigh sipped his drink slowly

"Yes. Me, Sabo, Koala and O-Tama know what it is." Luffy confirmed 

"Mind telling me?"

"No, sorry." Luffy shook his head "It's up to Nightingale herself to tell you if she feels inclined to."

-x-

"It's fresh." Sabo placed two cups of tea on the table between Nightingale and himself "A good tea was one of the rituals of my biological family that I actually liked."

"Thanks." Nightingale took a cautious sip 

"You need to stop worrying." Sabo's gaze focused on her "Just because some assholes obliterated your home doesn't mean that everyone you meet wishes to harm you."

"That so?" Nightingale leveled a quizzical stare at Sabo 

"Indeed." Sabo nodded "And even so, Marines have a bigger fish to fry than yourself. That's partially why our group, Golden Sombreros, was made in the first place: to protect said bigger fish from them. And we can do the same for you."


End file.
